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PGA TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCEJuly 9, 2008Anthony KimJOEL SCHUCHMANN: Good afternoon to those members of the media joining us here for this conference call. Today's guest is Anthony Kim, who won last week's AT&T National event. With the win, Anthony joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Kenny as players with multiple victories this year, having also won the Wachovia Championship in May, and Anthony will make his British Open debut next week at Royal Birkdale and it will be his fourth career major championship. Anthony, before we look forward to the Open Championship, if you could start with some opening comments about a great win for you last week in Washington, D.C., and also winning twice this one season obviously is a great accomplishment, but for somebody just in his second year on TOUR it has to be very satisfying. Maybe if you would start with some opening comments? ANTHONY KIM: You're right. It's been very -- I've had a blast on the PGA TOUR and it's been a lifelong dream to be a winner. And to do it twice in the stretch of two months is very rewarding. The hard work I've put in and all of the people that have helped me get to where I am has made it all better, and made it all worthwhile to work hard. Obviously reaping the benefits of hard work is something that everybody dreams of when they put in the time, and fortunately I got to win twice in the last five starts. So, I'm very excited and looking forward to a good second half of the season. Q. Just wondering if you've started thinking about the British Open in the sense of how you might have to alter your game, things like practicing 75-foot putts, bump-and-runs, punch shots, things that you might not use here in America. ANTHONY KIM: Absolutely. I think that's one of the biggest things I've been working on, and it's the shot that Todd Hamilton taught me when he won the British Open. I've spent some time with him and talked to him about what it takes to play links golf. Being an OU alumni, I was very interested to see how he played, and he showed me how to hit the 3-wood that he made look so easy out there at the British, and I've been working on that. Actually used that quite a bit, five or six times at the AT&T National tournament, and looking forward to it. Q. What do you think about Tiger's absence this year? ANTHONY KIM: I definitely think it's a huge loss for the PGA TOUR. He's been the face of our TOUR for a long time and he's done such a tremendous job in moving this TOUR forward, and it's obviously a tremendous loss. But at the same time for me personally, and additionally, I think it's a great opportunity for me to make a name for myself and hopefully I can do that. Q. You talk about this was a dream to win out here. How close was this to the dream you had at this stage of your career to have two wins? You talked about going into majors and you talked about getting to play on your first potential Ryder Cup Team. Is this exactly what you thought when you were 14 and 15? ANTHONY KIM: The feeling of winning is actually better now than I thought it would be. To have accomplished what I have and the fact that there's so many other people that can enjoy this win with me feels wonderful. I guess there's a lot more work that it goes into winning on the PGA TOUR than I thought. I thought it was going to be easier and took it for granted last year, and obviously that didn't work out. And the way I'm moving about it right now is working. I'm just trying to put in the time, and obviously winning makes it all worth it. Q. At the start of the year, were qualifying for the British Open and maybe getting a Ryder Cup berth, were those definite goals? ANTHONY KIM: Making that Ryder Cup was huge for me. Obviously I have a good opportunity to get there. That to me is just as big as winning, because I want to represent the country and I want to do a good job of that. I feel like at the Walker Cup, I helped the team get a W, and everyone did their part and I feel like I can do that for The Ryder Cup. It's very important for me to make that team, and obviously to be this close feels great. Q. This swing of yours, who taught you? And are you satisfied with this swing? ANTHONY KIM: Well, I really haven't had many coaches, and my dad was the one that taught me how to play. I followed what he was doing, and he read a lot of golf magazines, Golf Digest. He watched GOLF CHANNEL. He did all that so I could get where I am. I've been working with my coach, Adam Schriber, since I was 15 years old, and you know, he saw the swing that fits my body -- Tiger Woods, we don't have the same body so we couldn't have the same swing and have it work for both of us. I'm satisfied with how my swing is coming along and there's still some work that I have to do. Q. You mentioned Adam. How has Adam helped you in these last couple of years making the transition from your amateur career to now as a professional? What's he done that maybe has helped this recent run of success for you? ANTHONY KIM: Well, I think the biggest thing is that he has not changed what he is saying to me now that I'm on the PGA TOUR whereas when I was on the amateur circuit two years ago. We're working on the same stuff and we are not looking to do anything different because I'm playing against better competition, better players and trying to do bigger things. Just being there and always having the right direction to go through has been the biggest key for us. Q. You mentioned in the last couple of years, you've matured a lot on and off the course. What are some of the maturation processes that have really helped you recently? ANTHONY KIM: I really believe that my game last year reflected how I was living. There were lots of double-bogeys and triple-bogeys last year, and there were quite a few birdies, but at the same time, there was no point where I just made pars and birdies and just played solid golf. I feel like with the help of quite a few people, I turned my life around, put in some hard work and making the right decisions off the course have led to my good play this year. Q. In terms of people helping you, I read recently some comments from Mark O'Meara. Can you just elaborate on that and how much his words may have helped you? Of course everybody knows the influence he had on Tiger in the early going; has he had the same effect for you? ANTHONY KIM: Mark's been tremendous. Spending that time with him at the Merrill Lynch Shootout, it was priceless, because I learned so much and we developed a friendship that I feel is a pretty strong bond; and if I never needed to bounce any information off somebody or I needed advice, I could call him. I've learned so much from him, and I'm still learning. I talk to him I would say once every week or two. He just gives me the best advice. Obviously he's won majors, and being a multiple winner on the PGA TOUR, and it's hard not to listen to somebody like that. I can't put into words how much he has helped me move forward in my golf career. Q. What's your history with the British Open? Do you have any memories of watching it as a kid? And how much and in what ways have Todd Hamilton and Mark O'Meara, who have won both the British, in what ways have they prepared you for next week? ANTHONY KIM: I think my favorite major growing up was the Masters, and obviously never have played links golf, I didn't know what it was like to go over there. So I'm very excited and eager to get over there to see what it's like. I don't know much about playing links golf. I know that you're going to have to hit a lot of bump-and-runs. You're going to have to keep the ball down, and the greens are probably going to be a little bit slower than what we play out here on the PGA TOUR. But I don't know too much about it. I remember watching it, I think the 2004 British where Todd won, and I was very excited for him and very happy that an OU alumni got to take that trophy home. So, looking forward to a great showing, and hopefully I can play some good golf and I can have a chance to be contending for that Claret Jug. Q. Have you and Mark talked at all about the Open? ANTHONY KIM: You know, we actually have not talked about the British. We talked about the Masters and the U.S. Open, but we have not talked about the British. And probably before I go, I will talk to him about it and see what kind of advice he can give me. Q. You've talked a lot about how much your work ethic is better this year than it was last year. Can you sort of provide one example of maybe a situation last year where you didn't -- where not working hard sort of hurt, and you a similar example where this year, you played well and it paid off? ANTHONY KIM: Well, I mean, a perfect example is Wachovia last year. I finished fifth and I played some great golf, but I got to the course, I want to say on Tuesday of the tournament, and played 18 holes, really didn't map the course out. And every day before the tournament rounds, I got there about 30 minutes before my tee time. And so, I want to say that this year, I did a great job of preparing. I was there an hour and a half before my tee time, warmed up and got loose in the fitness trailer, hit some balls and hit 30, 45 minutes of putts before I went to play. And even though I finished fifth (last year), I felt like that was all I had. And this year, winning I think what made a huge difference was the preparation for that event. Q. You've mentioned Todd Hamilton and his OU ties. Do you have any memories or regrets of your time at OU and just that time of your life? ANTHONY KIM: My time at OU was wonderful and I would not trade it for the world. I have no regrets about anything that happened at OU. Obviously there's decisions that I could have made differently, and hindsight is always 20/20. But at the same time, I think it's made me who I am today and I'm very content with my life and how things are going in my life. And so, if I made mistakes, I learned from them, and now I'm just looking to be better in the future. Q. Did you and Coach Ragan part on good terms? ANTHONY KIM: Absolutely. He sent me a text a couple of weeks ago about my win at Wachovia, and when I get down to OU, I still stop in and we chat. Everything's fine on that end. Q. As a matter of fact already lots of Korean kids playing on the PGA and LPGA; do you have any special pieces of advice to these kids? ANTHONY KIM: The biggest advice would be to work hard and not let other people's opinions on their golf game bother them. I think there's a lot of juniors who come up and are sensitive to the fact that somebody is better than them; somebody is beating them, and some parent is telling them that, you know, you have got to beat them or you're not going to make the PGA TOUR. There's more than one way to make the PGA TOUR, and I think if you look down the list of -- (static predominates) -- my parents helped me quite a bit, and so keep your head down and keep working hard. Q. Hearing the answer was very poor; can you just repeat that? ANTHONY KIM: I just said that if I were to give advice, it would be to work hard and not let anything get in the way of it. What I mean by that is there will be times where you're not going to be the best player in the field; you're not going to be the one, the guy everyone is talking about, and that really doesn't matter. Because what you do as an amateur and a junior doesn't mean that you cannot make the PGA TOUR, and I think there are some kids that get discouraged. But if you keep working hard, as I've shown and a lot of people have shown, if you work hard, you can win out here and you can still be successful. Q. One of the things you talked about at the beginning of the year was scheduling differently and not playing as many tournaments in a row. You've won twice in nine weeks and it was just five tournaments. Has that really worked out for you, and how is that going to be now that it looks like you're going to be very busy toward the end of the season? ANTHONY KIM: Well, obviously I would like to have played better early in the year; but who knows, if I did, I may not have had the success recently, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. The scheduling has been great this year. I still think there's a couple of things I can get better at for next year as far as scheduling, but I'm ready to tackle this FedExCup and the majors and the World Golf Championships, so I'm very comfortable with my position. I feel rested and I definitely am eager to get out there and put up some good showings. Q. Did you take time off after the U.S. Open specifically because you had planned to, or because you were getting over some of that bronchial stuff that you had? ANTHONY KIM: I was planning on taking some time off. I'm going to play nine of 11, I think, coming up, and I needed to rest up. The difference is, on my off weeks, I'm not wasting my energy. I'm hanging out; I'm getting to see my friends and doing stuff and doing the things I wanted to do at home and not going anywhere. So I feel like my body is rested, my mind is rested, and now I can go out there and play some great golf. Q. In the wake of your win last week, a lot of stories focused on you as the next big challenger to Tiger; your reaction to that, and how much you think golf needs that in the next couple of years to sort of consistently push Tiger. ANTHONY KIM: Well, it is an honor whenever anybody puts you in the same breath as probably the best player to have ever played the game. I think when it's all said and done, he's going to be the Michael Jordan; the best player that's ever played golf. Obviously it's a tremendous honor to hear that, but I know I obviously need to still put in the work, and I'm a long ways behind, and I'm willing to do that. If I keep working hard, I don't see why anything can stop me and I'm going to do my best to get there. As to Tiger needing someone to push him, he doesn't need anybody to push him. I think he puts as much pressure on himself as anybody can, and I think that's made him the player that he is, and I feel the same way about my golf game. I don't think there's a critic or somebody that can make me feel a certain way. I put as much pressure on myself as anybody else. So for me, it's just to work as hard as I can and hopefully that will be good enough, and if not, I will know I've really tried and given it my all. Q. What's the origin of the belt buckle? A lot has been written about it, but where did it start, and do you ever worry or care about what other players might think of those? ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, actually it's a funny story. It started, I was walking around at the mall one day in my sophomore year at college and saw this kiosk and they were switching out these belt buckles, and I tried one with my initials on it. And then I started wearing it out to parties and whatnot, and then all of a sudden I started wearing it to the golf course. When I went out on TOUR, I think people were surprised that something like that was being worn by one of the players. I think it definitely has mixed reviews, but it represents me well. I feel like that's the generation I grew up in. It's a different -- I think I bring something different than somebody who has been on TOUR for 20 years, as someone who grew up in the MTV world. And I love showing that I'm 23 years old and I love having fun, and if somebody has a problem with it, you know, I can't do anything about that. Q. What does it say about you do you think? ANTHONY KIM: I think it says that I'm very outgoing, and I'm fun-loving and I'm not shy about what I want to say. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: That completes the call for the day. Anthony, do you have anything? ANTHONY KIM: No, just that I'm going to be working hard, so just watch out for me. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thanks a lot, Anthony, and to the members of the media on the call, we appreciate your attendance today and we'll see you down the road. End of FastScripts |
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